Ace Hearts
by ladyinquisitor93
Summary: Denaria only wanted to become a hunter because she felt weak and useless after losing her family to a rare monster, unable to protect them. After six years of training herserlf and with her faithful Palico companion, Namika, Denaria joins the caravan as its resident hunter. Is she ready for what's next? Set in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Some mature content will be present later on.
1. Chapter 1

Denaria was a young woman who had wanted nothing more than to become a hunter. She spent her whole life dreaming of the day and it finally came but at a cost. A random attack by a Gore Malaga, while on an expedition, killed her parents and the other party of their expedition. She was left alone to fend for herself, so she began her travels, fighting off monsters- small to begin with before moving to larger and larger game- until she was asked to join a caravan headed to Val Habar. She journeyed with the Caraveener, a gruff old man who had really taking a liking to her when she saved his ship and his hat from am elder dragon. They set up camp in Val Habar and Denaria quickly grew as a hunter in no time, taking jobs here and there. Eventually, they were ready to move on and headed towards Harth, a mining village they found upon arrival flat was being plagued by a Tetsucabra's vicious attacks any time they tried to reclaim their mines. Slaying the Tetsucabra with ease, Denaria became a new favorite of the village and helped them with other tasks and monsters. As her deeds grew, word quickly spread and even the Ace Hunters heard of her. Curious aside from their own hunting plans, they travelled to Harth to meet this famed hunter in person, but nothing could have prepared any of them, Denaria included, for what was to come next.

-O-

The Caraveener stood with the Ace Lancer as they waited for Denaria to return.

"So, old man, is this hunter of yours really as much as we've heard?" He asked, his golden armor gleaming in the bio-luminescent light coming from the stream.

The Caraveener nodded and chuckled. "Aye, she's a fine lass. She's been with the caravan for nearly five months."

"Well, she definitely has us all intrigued. Especially the Ace Commander."

They looked down as a Palico came running up to them. The Caraveener looked up and and smiled, seeing Denaria walk into the village.

Denaria looked around the village and saw the Caraveener and her Palico, Namika, standing with a stranger. She went over when the Caraveener called her over.

"Ah, there she is! How was the hunt?"

Denaria shrugged. "Can't say Gypceros are my favourite monster. It did beat me up pretty bad, though. Damn thing liked to play dead and caught me off guard. You have no idea how good it is to be back, Sid."

Sid chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you made it back safely."

Denaria nodded, then looked at the man standing next to the Caraveener. "Hello, are you a friend of Sid's?"

The Ace Lancer nodded. "Yes. I am Piers, Ace Lancer."

Denaria bowed her head. "Good to meet you. My name is Denaria."

Piers smiled. "Sid here was telling me that you live up to the rumors about you. If you'd like, you may join us on our next hunt. We leave in the morning. If you're interested, just ask our commander about it." He pointed to a young man coming down the hill, clad in blue armor.

Denaria looked up at him as he joined them.

"Ah, speak of the devil." Sid chuckled. "This is the Ace Commander, lass." He looked at the Ace Commander. "This is the hunter I was telling you about."

The Ace Commander looked at Denaria. Before him stood a young woman with shoulder length silvery white hair, a filigree tattoo of dark blue, teal eyes and a dark reddish purple gloss on her lips, a small scar running across the bridge of her nose. She wore silver dangle earrings and a matching necklace. Her current armor set covered most of her head and her ears. "You're the hunter?" he scoffed, looking her up and down. "You?" He had a look of disbelief and superiority.

Denaria was already not liking this man. She glanced at Sid.

"Arthur, this is Denaria. The hunter who has been with us for months? The reason you came to Harth?" Sid said, giving him a warning look.

Arthur looked from Denaria to Sid. "Really?" He looked back at Denaria. "...the hunter is you?"

Denaria rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm the caravan's resident hunter. Is that a problem, Ace Commander?"

Arthur looked at her, suddenly embarrassed. "What?" He glanced over at Sid and Piers who both shook their heads. "...oh, no, no problem at all." He shook his hands out in front of him. "You're just not on the same level as my expectations."

Denaria crossed her arms and glared at him. "Oh, and why is that?"

"Well, you're just so young and lack experience." Arthur stated.

"Really, now?" Denaria retorted. "And how old are you?"

"Twenty three as of last month."

Denaria snorted and cocked her hips, one hand resting on her hip while the other rested on the hilt of her blade. "And how long have you been a hunter?"

"Seven years."

Denaria walked right up to him, ignoring how handsome he was with his silver hair and blue eyes. "Which means that you're only three years older than I am and have only had an extra year of hunting than I have. So before you go and start judging people on their age, appearance, or experience perhaps you should get your facts straight!" She stepped back and started to turn away, but Piers stopped her.

"Denaria, wait."

Denaria turned and glared at him. "No, Piers, I am sorry. Clearly your Commander here thinks me too much a child to be able to hunt. I will be good girl then and stay out of your way. I might reconsider if your Commander can learn to loosen a few fastens on that armor of his and stop being a hard-headed as a rhenoplos."

Piers looked after Denaria as she stormed off, headed towards her wagon. "Arthur, why'd you have to go and do that?"

Arthur looked at him.

Piers groaned and rubbed his temples. "She's right you know. Must you be so hard-headed?"

Namika looked at the Ace Commander. "Sir, Mistress Ria has worked hard since she and I met. She has far exceeded my expectations. Give her a chance before you misjudge her." The Palico shook his head and ran after his mistress, who quickly came out dressed in a full Zamtrios blademaster armor set and her Insect Glaive at her back.

"Lass, you only just got back from defeating a Gypceros! Don't push yourself!" Sid called, sighing when his warning went unheard. He looked at Arthur. "You happy now? You've really gone and pissed her off."

Arthur stood there, dumbfounded as Piers and Sid went out their own business, clearly worried for this hunter. "What have I got myself into this time?"


	2. Chapter 2

It had been nearly a month since Denaria had met the Ace Hunters. Melanie, the Ace Gunner, and Garret, the Ace Cadet, had become good friends with her. Piers had too, but she stayed away from Arthur. She didn't like him one bit; he was arrogant, rude, held himself to a higher stander that made him as hard headed as a rhenoplos, and he thought her a child even though she was only three years younger than him. He infuriated her to no end, even though she proved herself time and again that she was more than capable to handle herself as a hunter.

By the time that she had defeated a Nerscylla and the caravan was ready to set sail in their new ship, the Ace Hunters had packed up and moved on towards their next destination- a mission setting their course. The day they set sail, though, Denaria nearly lost herself.

The skies darkened and a roar echoed in the clouds. Denaria and Sid looked to the sky as their Guildmarm Hilda, their forgemaster Derrick the Man, his new assistant Little Miss Forge Mona, and their street cook friend, Ling Yao, ran for cover. They scanned the seas and the skies, until they found the source of the roar.

"No..."

Sid looked at Denaria as her eyes widened and she backed away. "Lass, is that what I think it is?"

"Gore Magala..."

"Lass, load the guns!"

Denaria stood frozen for a moment, suddenly seeing the past flashing before her eyes- her parents and their expedition being desimated by the Gore Magala, it's terrifying face looming above her before suddenly vanishing.

"Denaria!"

Shaking herself from her memories, she forced herself forward. She grabbed the ammo for the ballista and fired them at the Gore, striking it each time. She had hoped that they would scare it off quickly, but then it shot a familiar attack at them. A black and purple swirling aura visible to the eye, shot in a blast of blighted energy that knocked Denaria back. It was the same attack that had led to the death or her parents and the destruction of their expedition.

"Doodle!"

Denaria fell to her knees, feeling the blight taking her as the Gore landed on the ship, stalking towards her. 'This is it... Just like Mom and Dad... It's all over...'

"Mistress Ria, you have to fight!" Namika said, leaping in front of her. He looked at the Gore, then at her and reached out to her, despite the blight. "You survived this monster before, you can do it again and fight!"

Denaria felt her eyes widen when the Gore came right up on them, opening its jaws to swallow them whole. "Nami!" She grabbed the Palico and threw him behind her, using her Insect Glaive to block the Gore. It reeled back and roared, shooting another blight blast at her. She quickly dodged it, then looked at the Palico. "Load the guns, Nami! I'll distract it!"

The Palico nodded and grabbed the ammo, quickly loading the guns and firing them at the Gore. He cheered when the Gore took flight and began to circle the ship.

"This isn't over yet!" Denaria called over the storm. "Sid, ready the Dragonator!"

The Caravaneer nodded and hurried to ready it, but the Gore threw a blight blast their way and he had to duck for cover, the blast narrowly missing him.

"Sid!"

"Lass, I'm fine!"

Denaria sank to her knees, feeling the blight taking its toll on her. "No, I'm not done yet..." She forced herself to stand and looked at her Kinsect, Mochi. "Ready, little one?"

The beetle nodded and positioned itself on her forearm as she aimed the glaive at the Gore. She pulled the trigger and released the nectar shot, smirking when the fire nectar smacked the Gore in the face. "Go, Mochi!" The Kinsect flew off towards the Gore, using the nectar to find it in the hurricane winds. It attacked the Gore's face while Denaria hurried to the Dragonator, readying it and firing when the Gore hovered above the surface of the sea. It shrieked and took to the skies, circling around until it dove onto the deck of the ship.

Denaria turned and glared down at the Gore, her glaive ready. The nectar was wearing off and Mochi was losing focus, but she needed to end this as quickly as possible. She lunged on the deck at the Gore, bringing down the blade end of her glaive, slicing through its eye and leaving a huge gash. That was finally enough to scare off the Gore, if but for a moment.

When the Gore took off, Sid came over to Denaria as she stood. "Lass, you did it!"

Denaria felt weary and looked over to see the Gore coming back. "It still isn't done yet..."

Sid looked over just in time to see the Gore rocketing towards them, only to be rammed into by another ship. The ship rocked back and forth, knocking Denaria over, but she looked up to see the Ace Commander, Arthur, reaching down to catch Sid as he began tumbling over the edge. The Gore took off and disappeared, not once turning back. For the moment, it was gone.

"You are lucky to have survived that monster!" Piers said, then looked over as Mona and Hilda hurried over to where Denaria was struggling to stand. "Denaria!" He ran over to her, Melanie and Garret close behind him. He stopped when he saw the blight still hovering around her. "No, Denaria..."

Denaria forced herself up and used her glaive as support. "Good to see you too, Piers." She tried to smile, but the blight was still painful.

"Ria..." Melanie tried to reach out to touch her, but Denaria shook her head.

"I'm blighted, Mel... You shouldn't touch me..."

Melanie clutched her hands to her chest, then looked back at Sid and Arthur. "Do something!"

Arthur had looked over to see Denaria struggling to stay on her feet, but what amazed him more was when the aura of the blight turned a soft golden and vanished. "Could she-"

The caravan and the Ace Hunters stared at Denaria as the blight completely vanished, leaving nothing but cuts and bruises behind.

Denaria felt her body somehow overcome the blight, like before when Namika had found her the first time, but it took every ounce of strength she had left. "I need to rest..."

Everyone watched as Denaria started towards the quarters section of the ship, walking passed Sid and Arthur.

Arthur stared in wonder at her as she started to pass him. How she could have possibly overcome the blight so easily was beyond him.

Denaria looked up at him and smirked. "Still think me a child?"

Arthur opened his mouth to reply, but he saw Denaria's eyes glaze over and she slumped forward. He barely managed to catch her and knelt down to get a good grip on her. Without another word, Arthur took Denaria to the ship quarters. She was lighter than he expected, but seemed peaceful as she rested. He laid her on her bed, then pulled a blanket over her. Her hair pooled around her head and he smiled, tucking a strand behind her ear. He looked at her ear, noticing they were pointed. 'She's a wyverian?' he wondered, then turned to leave. When he closed her door, he looked up to see Sid leaning against the wall.

"She alright?"

Arthur nodded. "She's resting." He sighed. "I had wondered why she was able to overcome the blight so easily."

"She's wyverian." Sid said, knowing he was hinting at that. "She has overcome it once before."

Arthur leaned against the wall, looking at the door. "What happened?"

Sid nodded, a grim look on his face. "When she was fourteen, just before she started as a hunter, she and her family led an expedition. They were attacked by the Gore Magala and though none of the details were provided, it would seem that she was the only survivor but had been seriously affected by the blight that monster produces. When Namika found her, he looked after her until she overcame the blight. She has been training ever since that day, convinced she failed her family." He looked up at Arthur. "You may think her a child, but she's grown so much in the time she's been with us. You should have seen her fight off that Gore Magala. She overcame her fear and fought through it to keep us safe. If you would have seen her, you'd rethink your judgement of her."

Arthur sighed. "Perhaps you are right."


End file.
